Meet the Farm Crew: Elly!

Elly is the type of employee that this farm dreams of. She does it all: she can bartend, she does dishes, she washes pumpkins and plants strawberries, she can cook up pancakes like a dream, and she sets up the whole barn for fall season (and takes it all down when the fall fun is over), and she'll do it all with a smile on her face and a hilarious comment or story to boot. 

And the best part about all this? She wasn't even looking for a job when she walked into the barn 4 years ago. But Kyle made sure she left with one.

During that fall season, Elly popped in for donuts and noticed that we were a little busy. Elly (being Elly) asked if Kyle needed any help. "And Kyle said, 'Come back tomorrow,'" Elly laughed. So she did and since then she's just done basically every job here at the farm. Elly loves to help and loves to give great customer service, enjoys being around people celebrating big and small milestones in their lives, and loves interacting with the families that spend their time out on the farm. 

"The kids are the best part of working here - seeing their faces and hearing them talk about their experiences on the farm," says Elly, who a lot of people call the best checkout lady ever. "I love having the kids guess the weight of their own pumpkins and asking them how their day was." And Elly never passes up an opportunity to monitor the zip line, because she says "the adults are the best part."

In her other life, Elly owns and operates a little country tavern called Yoder's in Rockville and she brings the same hard work ethic and bright personality to her customers there, too. Elly loves Harley-Davidson; goes up north to Winter, WI, to ride side-by-sides; and - as a 14-year breast cancer survivor who knows how precious life is - spends as much time as she can with her family. She also has a motorcycle hearse - first I've ever heard of one! - that can be pulled behind a motorcycle for funeral processions. 

"People warm my heart," Elly says, and she means it. She is nothing but genuine love and humor, and we always love when she's behind the bar, at the counter, or in the pumpkin patch. ​